A sun-kissed Greek holiday

Stalis Travel Blog

It is a mystery to some why my
first ever visit to Greece came at such a late stage in the game, and
was preceded by travel experiences to a whole host of other less
conventional and more outlandish destinations, but then again, I'm not
really one to schedule things in predictable ways, which makes it seem
like I prioritize destinations over others. As it stands, in my book,
there's barely a nation on earth which doesn't hold any appeal as an
uninitiated tourist, but all the same, I did have to single out just
one Greek island from a whole cluster of them, and figuring out that,
with Crete being the largest Greek island, it would therefore have the
biggest scope for discovery in the space of my week-long stay. Well,
the resort of Stalis got my casting vote for being both a hive of
activity, as well as a brilliant beach-fronted resort in which to be
based for the duration of my trip.

Greek ruins at the Palace of Knossos, just outside Heraklion, the island's capital

Nearby Malia has fewer traces of
Greek culture than just about any other Greek town, and is raucous and
brash in terms of appeal, but the colourful facades of Malia's
nightspots made for some interesting photo imagery. The other
neighbouring resort of Hersonissos, is sufficiently developed to be
considered a pleasant enough base for a holidaymaker, and the nearby
pleasure pool complex at Star Beach, where most attractions were in
fact free, was as fun-filled or relaxing as you'd want it to be, and
made for a full day of enjoyment. A must-see place on the island of
Crete are the archeological ruins at the Palace of Knossos, a complex
which is reachable from the island's chief town of Heraklion by service
bus, and this also constituted another full day out, with scope for
exploration and photo opportunities.

Boats arriving at Spinalonga island, a former Greek leper colony

Since the bus services in general
on Crete are reliable and inexpensive, I was able to reach the resort
town of Agios Nikolaos cheaply and relatively quickly, and set sail
from the Mediterranean town's charming quayside area on a half day boat
trip to the former leper colony island of Spinalonga, which is easily
Crete's most surreal setting. The true crescendo of the trip to Crete,
however, came on the last full day spent there, in the company of a
fellow traveller, in command of two rented quad bikes, which allowed
for a full day of hedonistic fun and freedom, spent ripping up the
terrain, along coastal routes, through peaceful villages (shame on us
for shattering their peace!), and along winding roads up into the
Cretan foothills. Turning in the bikes in the early evening summed up
the entire Cretan experience for me - that it was very much a 'mission
accomplished'-style trip, with ample scope to roam freely.